Chaos Theory: An Anascentian Legend
by FlyingMidgetProductions
Summary: Long ago, a great friendship was formed between two mercenaries during The Dominion War. Their bond was seen as unbreakable until one was consumed with power. Only Herobrine could see through his possessed friend's ideology and truly save Anascentia from the wrath of Chaos. He had to save the world - that was his only absolute truth. This is a prequel to The Diamond Compass.
1. The Beginning

A strong wind blew over the sands.

It wasn't like any strong wind felt before, either.

It was the strongest of winds. The big beauty of winds.

On a hot day like such in the middle of July, wind was your best friend in Anascentia since there was no better source of restoration from the heat. Ask any person – really, go ahead – and they would absolutely, one hundred percent guarantee that wind was your best friend during hot days in the middle of July.

Mercenaries had it pretty bad. Well, besides soldiers and scouts and what-not. Mercenaries were the middle men, always used as the bridge over the gap between soldiers and civilians. They were both, in reality, since they showed the most emotion from either party. Yeah, you could say that soldiers miss their home and civilians feel like a failure for not becoming soldiers – but that is exactly how a mercenary feels as well. Mercenaries left their family to go off and serve the various factions and bring in actual income. Bam, emotion from both parties in one.

Don't get me wrong, though – mercenaries didn't have it the worst. That award goes to scouts by a mile. Wait, make that _two _miles instead. Scouts were sent out into the field head on and were seen as simple decoys that could be used to get the upper hand despite how rare that chance would be. Soldiers might come in second, but mercenaries definitely came in third.

As I mentioned before, yes, there were factions long ago in Anascentia. Prior to the diabolical uprising of the Redstone Rebellion in the far east, another war had devoured the inner workings of the deserted digital world. When I say inner workings, I mean that it didn't really affect those in the larger cities like Imperial City, Babylon, or St. Rosemary. Instead, it heavily impacted the lives of the refugees and rogues that wandered the land in search of meaning.

One faction was called the Swing Faction. They wanted to bring down the disastrous Conley Faction quickly and in the most brutal manner possible. Out of all four factions, Swing Faction was the most affected by Conley's actions and that led to the bitter rivalry of theirs in the Dominion War.

Then there was the aforementioned Conley Faction, which consisted of mostly mercenaries. However, the amount of mercenaries in their faction began to cripple the gunpowder and gun industries that were just starting to get up and running throughout the world. This led to deeper complications in their order and greatly fueled The Dominion War (another factor was of the leader's ignorance, but that doesn't matter _yet_).

The other two were simply called Gavin and Ross Faction. They don't matter and merely served as the backbone to the war. What I mean by backbone is that they kept the war going – whenever the battles became far and few between Conley and Swing, they would fuel the tension and continue it on.  
Really, they did that only to see who would come out on top.

These four factions weren't just districts that divided all of Anascentia (they were much smaller than that); they were how people were able to tell who was opposed to the new laws given out by Moderator Solomon in Imperial City. Two particular laws built up the four factions from the ground – the Gun Smoke Act and the Inhuman Act. It basically came down to each faction having different opinions on the overall laws.

Swing Faction disapproved of both laws.

Ross Faction approved of the Gun Smoke Act, but not the Inhuman Act.

Gavin Faction approved of the Inhuman Act, but not the Gun Smoke Act.

Guess where Conley Faction stood?

That's right – they approved of both.

Thus the Dominion War erupted in the underbelly of the Sand Sea. It was titled such by the Swing Faction itself for they thought that whoever would reign victorious would be eligible to change the laws and the rest of Anascentia for that matter. Conley Faction, since they utilized gunpowder and guns to a great extent, needed both laws to be active in order for their power to rise.

The Dominion War never caught the eye of the higher ups in the government. Moderator Solomon never even _heard_of the conflict. The only people who really knew of the war in the major cities were survivors of the various battles that occurred. Whether those refugees were left in Fontaine, Babylon, Yggdrasil, or Imperial City, they knew the tale and waited for the day when they would find people just like themselves and discuss their thoughts on each faction's motives.

When the war eventually shifted to where the Redstone Rebellion eventually established its main base, there was actually a town built there that was the original model of the base. The town was called Onyx and it was a large, independent city full of hope. Few knew of its existence unless they had wandered into the desert, got lost, and found the oasis of the future.

At the Battle of Onyx (also called "The Battle for Power") the town was devastated. Around 90% of the population was spared and they all had to scurry off through the hazardous desert to their next home. This led to a mysterious event called "The Great Influx" in which large groups of people (I mean _massive_ groups of people) began to arrive in all the big name cities such as Babylon, St. Rosemary, and _especially_Imperial City.

Once the wave of people had settled into Imperial City, controversy began almost instantly that some sort of conspiracy was amok. The refugees arrived and were taken in for questioning regarding where they came from and why they arrived in Imperial City at once. Everyone knew that revealing the existence of The Dominion War would cause great disaster for the rest of Anascentia, so they did their best to bullshit their way into a normal lifestyle.

An event that occurred during the interrogations of the refugees helped shape the future of two kind souls. An elderly man, who said his name was Scott and felt the need to remind everyone almost every second, pretended to be insane by making up imbecilic lies to help the other refugees. Later, on his deathbed, he said that "he felt that everyone else deserved a long and prosperous life."

The public funeral for Scott was held in the middle of November at a now-demolished funeral home in northeastern Imperial City. It was a nice one-story  
building that catered to both believers of Notch and the Flower Zodiac. In that way it was controversial amongst extremists, but what isn't?

The funeral had begun at eleven in the morning and concluded at one in the afternoon. The lobby of the building was packed to the brim, surprising one quiet man and making him wonder about Scott's nobility. This man had short, untidy brown hair and nice brown eyes to match them. He had on a plain green shirt with blue jeans, but usually wore a leather jacket over it.

Another man stopped by the quiet man, who was sitting on wooden bench beside the exit, "Come on, the funeral is over. Let Scott rest in peace."

"How many people actually knew him?"

The other man began to count on his fingers, making the quiet man wonder even more how famous Scott was. The other man, who had long blond hair and wore a white suit, looked almost the same age as the quiet man, "Can't say for sure. Let's just go with the fact that Scott was a writer in his heyday."

"He wrote? What did he write? I used to read a lot. Maybe I might recognize him or something." The quite man stood up and pulled out a piece of paper from one of his jacket's pockets. He then pulled out a pencil (crudely crafted) and prepared to write.

"I think one of his books was called _Aether_. The other one…" The other man trailed off and went into deep thought. Really, once you knew the title of the book, you couldn't blame him. It was complex yet profound – a must read for all ages.

The quiet man nodded after writing down the first title and put away his paper, "Don't worry about it. I'll be sure to check it out." He began to walk towards the exit doors.

"Wait a minute," the other man said a bit louder, "I've seen you somewhere."

"You have?"

"Yeah. Were you one of the refugees from Onyx?"

"Uh-huh."

"That explains a lot. I remember seeing you during the evacuation."

"Yep, I think I might've seen you as well."

The other man smiled in realization, "Now I know why you're here. You were inspired by what Scott said during the interrogation week, weren't you? It's all right to admit it. I was moved by his words as well."

"Well, maybe just a little."

The two stopped and stared at each silently as the conversation died.

The quiet man smiled, "See you around."

Alright, the title of the book was _Hippotamus and the Restless Case of the Bacterial Disguise of the Man Formerly Called Himself. _Happy now?

"Yeah," The other man smiled back, "Likewise."

The quiet man walked out the building into the cloudy weather that was prominent in Anascentia during the transition from fall into winter. Sometimes it would rain; other times it would snow; other times it would storm; but sometimes it wouldn't be cloudy. Sometimes it would be sunny.

Only sometimes, though.

* * *

Speaking of Scott the writer, a particular chapter in his story _Hippotamus and the Restless Case of the Bacterial Disguise of the Man Formerly Called Himself_ actually described a theory that was a major part of The Dominion War. Now, you might be wondering to yourself "If he's a famous writer that wrote about The Dominion War, then how did nobody else know about it?" Well, the truth is that they didn't. Scott was known for writing _Aether_, a fictional best-seller telling the tale of one boy in his mission into the Aether. More so, it was a commentary on equality, but that's beside the point.

The title _Hippotamus and the Restless Case of the Bacterial Disguise of the Man Formerly Called Himself_actually is derived from an event that Scott experienced as a child in the great city of Babylon. There was an election (this was before Babylon became less like all other governments) and in the end only two candidates remained – Mr. Arthur and Mrs. Ravage. Both were likable, handsome, and potential saviors of where the city of Babylon might go without a proper mayor.

Then the rumors began.

It all started with the mysterious person who called himself "The Happy Hippopotamus." This person published articles and began rumors that Mr. Arthur was a corrupted former rebel who was actually involved in a Redstone raid that had become one of the biggest crimes in history. As the news continued to escalate, Mr. Arthur confessed to more and more and eventually ended up killing himself. Before Mrs. Savage could even come into power, the civilians of Babylon decided to abolish the government they had and live on in a more independent manner.

The name Hippotamus was merely a shortened version of The Happy Hippopotamus; Scott chose it because it sounded cool and sophisticated. "The Restless Case of the Bacterial Disguise" was merely a comparison between Mr. Arthur's bad effect on others like bacteria and he merely used a new identity to hide it all. The identity is actually the meaning behind "The Man Formerly Called Himself" and is a recurring theme in the rest of the story.

All in all, the story was semi-fiction. It was _based_on the events that occurred long ago but merely put a twist on them. It was toward the middle of the story, where a journalist (the protagonist) decides to interview Martin (the corrupted individual formerly called himself) and Martin outright says the following:

"You can say it all but nobody can listen. Corruption isn't only happening in Babylon, you know. It happens everywhere and so few are aware! It is only a problem when they _do_ become aware. That's when they see that punishment must commence. The criminal _must_die a painful death!" Martin spoke wickedly in the dark room where he hid during the reveal of his scandal, "It was their Occam's razor and it is ultimately the corruption itself as death is seen as the endgame for everyone. Somebody killed someone else? Let's kill them and make it fair. Except life isn't fair. Why try to make death, of all things, fair when life itself isn't? Life and death are one and the same; if one is fair, the other can't be unfair. However, they are both unfair and that is the absolute truth. When the Battle for Dominance began all those years ago, I knew that corruption was still invisible to the naked eye. Nobody truly understood anything and that's why I thought I could move on from what I had done in the past. My life was formed around a simple thing – a thing called the 'chaos theory' – that basically foretold something as the absolute truth. Much like an Occam's razor, I shaped my life around the absolute truth. Sadly, there is no absolute truth as everything is corrupted because life is unfair. Death is the end of the road – that is the only Occam's razor."

You see, "The Battle for Dominance" was his fictional title for his version of The Dominion War. He kept it vague so that the clueless would remain clueless and that those in the know would understand. He wrote that entire quote in order to relate The Dominion War and Mr. Arthur's downfall with the simple yet complex "chaos theory" that was basically the brother to the term "Occam's razor" in terms of meaning. In all honesty, what he said was true. The only absolute truth is that death lies at the end of life.

However, it can be argued that there is another.

It can be argued that the only absolute truth is that chaos theory is an absolute lie.

Indeed, that is the _only _absolute truth.

* * *

Herobrine was his name.

A lot of people called him "Steve" because of how generic he looked.

But his name was Herobrine. That was an absolute truth.

The quiet man, I mean. His name was Herobrine and still is.

Herobrine already checked all available bookstores and libraries in Imperial City besides one for _Aether_. The only one he had not looked into was the one at the college, which was going through a phase of remodeling. Who doesn't love that? Herobrine, of course. They had all these signs everywhere saying that "Fiction books have been moved to the historical section!" or "Science books have been moved to the nonfiction section!"

So what could _Aether _be listed under? Fiction? Historical fiction?

He checked both but couldn't find it. Could it be that the college had not the book in stock?

"Are you looking for something, dear?" The young yet mature librarian had asked politely from behind the front desk. She had perfect skin – surgery perhaps? – that really outshined her ginger hair and black dress uniform.

Herobrine looked over, holding a bunch of books that he found interesting, "I attended the funeral of an author named Scott and was hoping to find one of his novels here. It's called _Aether_, or so I was told."

"Scott Thomas, you mean? He should be located in the science section."

Herobrine thanked the librarian and proceeded to said science section where, lo and behold, both _Aether_ and _Hippotamus and the Restless Case of the Bacterial Disguise of the Man Formerly Called Himself_, both by Scott Thomas, the acclaimed author, were. He picked out both of them and went to check them out. He exchanged a smile with the librarian and left, heading for the hotel that he had rented just off of the main street.

A figure had stepped out from beside the front door of the college as Herobrine exited. He nearly dropped his books out of the sudden and tripped down the steps. Looking up, he only saw the man from earlier that day with the blond hair. He helped Herobrine up and the two looked around cautiously, hoping that no one had seen what had just happened.

"You all right? I didn't mean to startle you like that." The man asked respectfully.

"Yeah, I think so. Just a scrape or two here and there but nothing to worry about really," Herobrine smiled, "I… never got you name."

"Chaos," The man smiled, "I was actually wondering if you'd like to grab a drink or two. How about it, er, what's your name?"

"Herobrine," Herobrine stated, "And yes, let's drink."

Indeed, they drank. They spent several hours, then weeks, discussing their separate lives back in Onyx and how they had decided to change for the better and try to do all that they could while they were young. They talked about joining various non-profit organizations, supporting environmentalists, and trying to save the environment altogether.

So when Chaos announced that he was becoming a mercenary, Herobrine lost it.

"You're becoming one of them?" Herobrine could only repeat the statement. What else could he say or do? They were at a bar with other tougher men who would only laugh at the slightest drop of emotion from either one of them. He could only drink.

Chaos reached for his glass, which was half full, "I see many good things to come."

"Such as?"

"First of all, the opportunities."

He had a point, yet Herobrine wanted to hear more.

"Allow me to elaborate," Chaos finished off his drink and wiped his mouth with a napkin, "I spent all week researching about that environmentalist group you wanted to meet with. This led me to the political back bone of Anascentia and made me realize just how important the laws we make are. Conley Faction supports those laws, thus I support them. They need me. They'll _want_me."

"Is this really a good idea? You're practically throwing your life away." Herobrine was legitimately worried despite only knowing Chaos for a few weeks.  
Chaos looked Herobrine in the eye, "My life's importance matters only to me."

The two then left the bar after another pair of drinks and went straight for the front gates. Yes, Chaos had clearly and formally stated his plans for the future. What he failed to communicate, however, was the fact that he was leaving _that night_.

Just as the gate was opened and Chaos prepared to step out into the world beyond, Herobrine spoke up, "Walking across the desert in the middle of the night? That isn't like you. I've barely known you for a month and I already know you're smarter than that."

"If I'm smart enough to not go, then how am I not smart enough to survive on my own?" Chaos continued walking, confident in his plan to reach the camp of Conley Faction by morning.

"Because nobody is smart enough to survive on their own!" Herobrine ran forward, "That is why I'm going with you!"

"Please don't do this. You did not give your opinion on The Dominion War, so don't follow me simply because nobody else will accept you. Follow only if you believe so."

Herobrine stood his ground, "I will follow."

"Then don't follow me. Follow your beliefs."

The two continued together, following their beliefs.

* * *

The greatest ordeal of their early careers as mercenaries was of how they arrived at Conley Faction's camp just as the war had intensified. Conley had made quite the advance on the other factions, leading to an all-out assault. That one assault could change the future of all of Anascentia, and Herobrine and Chaos got caught right in the middle of it.

The first warning of a battle to them was the fact that a cannonball flew over them as they cross over high sand dunes. They had to repeatedly slide down each one of them and hide in the shadows to keep out of dodge of the massive boulders that could bring their premature deaths.

"Nobody is smart enough to survive on their own, eh?" Chaos began, looking to see if it was safe enough to keep travelling, "Well, we're not alone. How do we get out of this one?"

Herobrine looked across all possible horizons to travel to before noticing a red flag off in the distance, blowing gently in the wind, "Looks like a red flag over there. Did you say red belonged to Swing?"

"No, red was Conley. That's where we wanna go." Chaos ran forward towards the aforementioned red flag. Herobrine began to follow and soon the tents inside the camp came into sight. There was an abundance of soldiers walking around in a hurry obviously because of the incoming threat. Many dispatched into the desert; some in mine cart tanks, others completely alone.

Once the two reached the front gate of the camp, the urgency of the situation became even more evident as the men looked panicked. Eventually a taller, bulkier man emerged from a more distinct tent at the back of the camp. He had a "rock jaw" sort of face and wore a rather studded uniform. Every soldier around him stopped in their tracks and saluted.

The man approached Herobrine and Chaos, who stood in place, frightened by their awful timing in arrival. He reached onto his back and pulled out a steel sword, "You came at a horrible time. Where you come from? Another faction? Don't come here beggin' for mercy."

"We don't want mercy, sir. Just to support." Chaos said.

"Support? You come to join Conley?"

Herobrine and Chaos nodded.

"Then get out there and serve." The man pushed the duo back out onto the desert.  
_  
Damn_. They didn't even get his name! Despite their dislike of the probable commander's attitude, he was right – they went to serve, so they'd better do as they originally wanted to. They went out into the desert, retrieving the weapons of the fallen and combating against their enemies from the Swing Faction. It became a grueling experience but rewarding, nonetheless.

Eventually it went on to late morning and the battle continued to rage throughout the desert. The winds that day were ferocious and caught many soldiers off guard, often blowing wind over them and drowning them in a mountain of sand. This led to the untimely end of the battle, where both factions receded, declaring a stalemate.

When Chaos and Herobrine returned, various weapons tied to their backs with leather, they saw the general and he did not look happy. He looked far from it, holding his steel sword with a solid grip, "You two were completely useless."

"Useless?" Chaos responded in a weak voice.

"Useless," the general repeated, "You come here, hoping to serve the Conley Faction, but only end up becoming pedestrians. What good are you when you only serve as pedestrians in a war zone?"

Herobrine stepped forward, "We're not pedestrians, we're mercenaries. We went out there, grabbing the weapons of those who gave their lives and delivered them to others like a mercenary would do. Death isn't what classifies a hero's rank; their preservation of life is."

The general grunted before sheathing his sword slowly, "Perhaps you are correct in where you stand. However, I wish to see more from you when we challenge Swing again. I don't want you to simply deliver weapons. I want you to _use_the weapons. That's their purpose."

"Then we're allowed in?" Chaos asked.

"Why the hell not," the general sighed and turned away, "You can call me General Artemis. I'll serve you as long as you serve me. Deal with it." He walked back to his tent.

Thus Chaos and Herobrine were formally brought into the camp. They were given the grandest of clothing (for a soldier at the time) and treated like companions by the other soldiers. It wasn't too long before it felt like a brand new home to them. For once they felt comforted and not out of place like in Imperial City.

One night, in their tent, Herobrine awoke in the middle of a rainy night. Their tents were finely crafted so that rain wouldn't soak the materials and the soldiers inside. There was thunder roaring across the desert and there was the possibility of a flood (this was long before the drought had begun).  
Nonetheless, Herobrine awoke and couldn't return to his slumber.

He reached to his sack at the end of his cot and pulled out a book titled _Hippotamus and the Restless Case of the Bacterial Disguise of the Man Formerly Called Himself_ and began to re-read for the fifteenth time (_exactly_fifteen times). The contents of the book were mesmerizing and often thought-provoking. Scott Thomas could very well have been the most influential person to Herobrine at the time.

"Can't sleep?" Chaos awoke slowly, staring at Herobrine in the dark.

Herobrine shook his head, reading using a glowstone lamp.

"This rain, man. It's killer." Chaos sat up all the way.

Herobrine nodded, "You should read some of Scott Thomas' work."

"Really? What's it about?"

"You, of all people, don't know what it's about? You _suggested _it to me."

"Yeah, I knew who he was."

Herobrine closed the book and turned out the light, "Well, these stories that he tells aren't exactly linear. They take these twists and turns and eventually meet at the end to prove a valid point. They're often points about humanity and revolution and such since, well, that's what Scott Thomas wanted all his life, apparently."

"Revolution?"

"He was the kind of guy who would tear down the government first chance he got."

Chaos stood up and walked out into the rain.

"Where do you think you're going?" Herobrine followed him curiously.

"Just feeling the rain."

The two stood out at the center of Conley Faction camp as the rain continued its endless downpour over Anascentia. While the sky was cloudy and grey, there was a slight hint of color. It was a subtle radiance that shined from red to blue to white to red and all through the colors of the rainbow. It was absolutely hypnotizing and a true spectacle of Mother Nature. Up to that point it was the greatest thing that Chaos and Herobrine had ever witnessed.

Now that was an absolute truth.


	2. The Search

As the weeks passed it seemed The Dominion War would never come to a proper close. Day in and day out death would strike the Sand Sea and cause sadness to the families involved. More and more camps were discovered and destroyed in the fierce battles that fueled the chaotic conflict of uncertainty.

What should be noted here is that Swing Faction is a major contributor to the so-called "strife" of The Dominion War. Many have accused Swing of obliterating their homes and families. They would merely turn their heads and send the blame crawling towards Conley, who would deny such things. Of course the innocent people knew that Conley didn't have anything to do with the destruction that was ravaging the desert, but there wasn't much for them to do either in retaliation. They could only sit back and allow Swing to cause more damage.

In fact, Conley was rather delicate with the concept of life. The faction was filled with people from all different backgrounds – some were followers of the Flower Zodiac, some followed the belief of Notch, others believed in the evolution of Endermen. The thing that should be noted here is that none of this truly mattered; what mattered was that they were fighting alongside one another despite their conflicting beliefs.

This was the initiation of what could be seen as the "renaissance" of the Conley Faction as they weren't always this happy and peaceful. In fact, in the beginning they were seen as major threats to everyone. The innocent civilians consistently accused Conley Faction of terrorizing their homelands while urging Swing to bring them down. The other two factions weren't fully developed at this point so they weren't seen as the neutral parties they eventually became.

However, later on many changes began to brew within Conley, resulting in its complete rebirth. All the hate that consumed them was exhausted and peace began to take its place. The laws that fueled The Dominion War came into action and Conley decided to do the right thing and support total peace.

It wasn't long before Conley became the favorable contender in the war from a civilian's point of view. They had begun to lean towards Conley rather than Swing, which led the latter to become more and bitterer. This was the real beginning of their rivalry in The Dominion War as Swing really _did_want both laws passed – they just didn't want Conley to seem victorious.

Conley decided that even if they didn't win the war they could still be seen as the true heroes of the war and planned out how they would show off their peaceful nature. For starters, they laid out the anti-hate rules altogether before heading into benefits. Here they made it so that each individual soldier (or whatever position they were) could only serve five days out of the seven day week. General Artemis saw this as the perfect way to preserve the life of those serving valiantly in Conley.

However, there was a glaring loophole in this. Since the soldiers serving would be paid in resources and gold depending on how much they served and their overall accomplishments, every soldier in the faction would want to work as much as they could despite only being permitted to serving five days a week. So what became the "sworn secret" of the faction was how to work those last two days. The loophole basically began with the rule about sickness on the battlefield. If any soldier was sick, they would have to stay in bed and send out a replacement. Of course, whoever this replacement was could never be verified as they were going out as a replacement and not an on-duty soldier. They would go out and then the "sick" person would eventually report for duty. They would then be told to go and find their replacement and send them back.

Knowing the soldiers, they would leave the replacement be.

Somehow General Artemis never caught on.

Either that or he just never gave a damn.

Actually, there was plenty of solid evidence that he never actually cared whether the soldiers overworked themselves. He wasn't the banker that distributed their pay – he just led them out into battle. Besides that, some of the things he had said to soldiers in private could be taken as a subtle explanation basically stating "I don't give two shits about you so go and do whatever the hell you want."

One such day, about a month after Herobrine's and Chaos' arrival at the Conley Faction's camp, Chaos was called in for a private meeting with Artemis. It was early morning, prior to an expected rain shower, so he rushed on over. It was incredibly cloudy and humid, making it seem like a hurricane was approaching.

At the front entrance of the general's massive tent, Chaos stopped and was greeted by a knight of higher class. He had stronger armor, weapons, and looked to be much older than he was. The knight stood in place before stepping out of the way to allow Chaos into the tent, "Sir Chaos, the general has been waiting patiently for you. Don't test his patience too much, though."

Chaos entered into the warm tent. There were windows placed on each wall that gave Artemis a clear view of the camp. In the middle of the home was a pleasant little fire with different rugs spread out around it. Crafting tables, furnaces, and chests were placed all along the walls of the tent.

"Chaos, please have a seat." Artemis requested from a rug on the other side of the fire. He was wearing a red wool robe (probably his sleep attire) and looked to be well groomed for such an early hour. His marvelous sword was sheathed and placed beside him on the ground.

Doing as he was told, Chaos gazed into the fire. It looked to have been burning all night without end, "Did you need something, sir?"

Artemis looked past the fire at Chaos, "I need you to listen carefully."

Chaos' eyebrow rose, "What's this all about?"

"I'm afraid that I've seen faults in your actions over the past four weeks and they've become steadily more dangerous to others. Now, I have trusted both you and Herobrine but I cannot allow this to continue forth," Artemis, sounding concerned, stood up with his sword in hand, "I've assigned to have you trained by one of our finer paladins, Wesley Montoya. Your exercises will be grueling but rewarding. You begin at noon."

"Is that it?" Chaos stood up, not ready to leave just yet, "You can't just bring me in, call me a failure, and refuse to acknowledge what I've done  
wrong!"

The front of the tent opened up and a figure walked into the spacious room. He was tall with long, brown fluffy hair and brown leather armor. A large sword was attached to his back. As he approached Artemis he bowed, "I have come, as you requested. What is the occasion of my presence?"

Chaos stepped closer towards Artemis, "Yes, tell me what I must be trained on."

"The simple tasks, really. You fail to understand human life and the connectivity to others. You look to fight without mercy and laugh as your foes die. That is not what we do; we fight with grace, spirit, and love. Why do you think we fight? For life, of course! But killing others pointlessly and mercilessly is the greatest contradiction of them all. You suffer from this the most and that is why Wesley here is going to be helping you to further your emotional connection to the outside world. He is the paladin with the biggest heart, I believe. You will learn plenty from him." Artemis walked to the front of the tent and exited.

Wesley turned to Chaos, who was angered, "Cheer up, young one. Once you master the basics of human emotion you can become the greatest knight of all. That is an absolute truth, my friend."

"Knight, you say?" Chaos shook his head and went to exit, "I am a mercenary, not a knight."

"We're all the same in some way, friend." Wesley shrugged off Chaos' rash reactions and followed him outside.

Indeed they were. All soldiers were told the same thing that Artemis advised Chaos about – fight with grace, spirit, love, but also respect. Respect was seen as the holy rule to any and all soldiers serving Conley. This concept was one that every new soldier was taught instantly as it would be the one to decide their fate. Chaos was the kind of soldier who refused to show respect to the man that he fought in war as it was pointless to him in that context.

Just an hour prior to noon Herobrine had awoken, expecting to see Chaos still asleep on his cot. Since the two vowed to always fight together, they would decide how to spend their day off as they see fit early on. Since Chaos was absent from the tent, Herobrine felt something was off.

Stepping out of his tent, he looked around like a man just waking up from the worst hangover of his life. The world felt upside down to him and he couldn't understand why. Was it just because he had expected Chaos to still be in bed? "Perhaps he's replacing somebody," Herobrine thought and began to wander around the camp to socialize and possibly learn where Chaos had wandered off to randomly.

"Yo, Steve!" A voice called out from underneath a blue canopy near Artemis' massive tent. It came from another soldier on his day off, sitting with a nurse who looked to be in some sort of pain. She sat beside him on a checkered blanket, her leg stretched out in front of her. She held onto it like something had stabbed it and she was trying to comfort the surroundings of the wound.

Herobrine walked over to the canopy and sat down across from the nurse, "Is something the matter? You look to be in pain from something that isn't even there."

"These damn sharp feelings hit me at the worst times!" The nurse began cursing profusely under her breath while rubbing her leg carefully.

The other guy laughed, "She's going crazy, ain't she?"

Both the guy and Herobrine shared a laugh while the nurse gave up and left.

"Damn, I can't wait to get back out on the battlefield," the guy left, stretching out his legs and cracking his neck, "The days off are the worst. We don't do anything but sit around and talk about the few women who actually are here at Conley. I pity those that enjoy these days."

Herobrine had to wholeheartedly agree. The majority of the faction saw the days off as a way of the higher ups saying "You aren't tough enough to fight seven days straight so go ahead and get your beauty rest." Plus, there just wasn't anything to do on a day off since most other soldiers were out fighting. Speaking of fighting, there were barely any actual battles occurring at this stage of the war since Swing had repressed most of their soldiers due to the storms and strong winds of that season.

Then he remembered, "Have you seen Chaos today?"

"Chaos?" The guy repeated.

"Yeah, he's not in bed. Where else could he be?"

"I heard that Artemis either kicked him out or forced him onto the battlefield. Neither sounds true, though, since Chaos kicked serious ass and, well, let's face it, Artemis never forces people onto the battlefield. The dude doesn't seem like the same guy anymore, to be honest. It's sad as hell," The guy stood up and walked into his tent beside the canopy. He walked back out a minute later with a gun with peeling paint, "Anyway, I need to get back to working on this piece of shit gun. Hopefully I get promoted and a better weapon."

Herobrine began to feel dizzy, "Chaos… is gone?"

"That's what I've been told."

That was enough to set Herobrine off. He marched over to Artemis' tent and began to impatiently ask the guard situated in the front to speak with the general. For the first few times the guard denied access, but eventually obliged out of fear and allowed Herobrine to enter the tent.

On the inside Artemis was over by one of the furnaces, smelting gold into ingots for weapons. He turned around and smiled, "Ah, Herobrine. If you don't mind, I have a favor to ask of you."

"Not now, sir," Herobrine walked further into the tent, "Why Chaos?"

"Well, he still has a long way to go so-"

"That's no reason to up and drop him out of the blue!"

Artemis looked at Herobrine confusingly, "Huh?"

"I can't find Chaos and people say that you kicked him from the faction. Is this true?"

The general laughed and walked outside, "Not at all true. Chaos is simply out training with Wesley Montoya since he needs a better understanding of emotions. He kills mercilessly and that is not someone that I want in my army. Of course, if he shows no signs of improvement then I may have to keep him off the battlefield indefinitely, but until then he will be training."

Herobrine sighed with relief and looked straight ahead to the camp exit, "How exactly is this Montoya guy gonna help Chaos? I mean, Chaos is a wonderful dude and all, but I haven't seen any real signs of danger in him. What is he gonna be trained on?"

"Simple things first. Wesley will look into Chaos' fighting abilities and utilize what he learns to his advantage in teaching Chaos how to be a bit more civil in battle. It shouldn't be longer than a week or two before Chaos is just like you in being graceful, spirited, loving-"

"And respectful," Herobrine nodded and began to walk back to his tent, "Thanks for everything. I'll be in my tent if you need me for the rest of the day."

Artemis stepped forward, "Actually-"

Herobrine could not hear him.

The general turned to the guy still polishing his gun, "Otto, could I ask a favor of you?"

"Of me? On my day off?" Otto stood up and threw his gun aside, "Shoot."

"I've received word from an anonymous source that a child has been seen wandering the desert at night. This source says that the child looks to be sick or possessed with red eyes or something. Could you perhaps look into this? A shiny promotion might be rewarded if you don't screw up."

Otto smiled, "Absolutely. Anything for a promotion. You say at night?"

Thus Otto began his preparation for his promotion. At this time he was just another soldier, but since he had been fighting for several months he was just about to the point of becoming a proper knight. After that he would become a paladin (like Wesley Montoya) and then a general if the current one ever died. In this case, if Artemis was ever killed in battle then Wesley would be appointed general.

Of course, nobody _cares_about Otto's journey to becoming a knight. Hell, if I were to elaborate on such a boring topic then I might as well write a fifty chapter story on the nurse and why she seems to be feeling sharp pains in her leg. Not every character needs their own storyline – some just need a back story to make them relevant.

Speaking of relevance, Chaos' training was taking place out in the Sand Sea, not too far from the Conley camp. Wesley Montoya had picked that place special as it was the place where he was trained when he was younger and ultimately was promoted to paladin upon slaying Trevor Nix, one of the most legendary warriors to come out of the other three factions (he actually came from Ross Faction. His death pretty much signaled the end of them being a threat in The Dominion War).

The setting was nice and flat with spiral rocks placed all around. Chaos and Wesley stood at the center of the area, weapons drawn and in battle stance. Chaos looked at his mentor's weapon and saw how generic it was – a steel sword with dots of Redstone placed randomly on the blade. It looked like it was just for show until Wesley properly explained it.

"You see, the Redstone gives the sword just enough power to not kill opponents quicker but to keep it from breaking. It is merely for defense uses as all attack power comes from the wielder." Wesley said and disarmed Chaos instantly. He swung the sword around in his hand swiftly. It looked to weigh no more than a feather would.

Chaos ran and grabbed his sword, "Then what's the point of making weapons out of diamond or gold?"

"As I said, defense purposes," Wesley grabbed Chaos' iron sword and stroked his finger along the flat side, "The weapons made of diamond last longer and have a better chance of protecting you. People will say all they want that killing is easier with them, but don't believe a word they say."

The two fought again. Chaos' sword was disarmed even quicker.

"Very well, let's start with the basics on how to be a proper soldier," Wesley sat down in the sand, stabbing his sword into the ground beside him,  
"Respect is most important, right? Why is that?"

"Because everyone wants respect."

"There's a bit more to it," Wesley said and began reaching for more thoughts, "How about mercy? Why do we want to show mercy to our opponents?"

Chaos shrugged, "This makes no sense. You say that I'm supposed to show mercy but when I first arrived at camp Artemis said that I'd better not be some soldier from another faction begging for mercy. Why would he detest others begging for mercy but then turn around and order us to show it?"

That honestly was a very profound question that Wesley thought about for quite a bit. The thought process of his general wasn't always the straightest forward, but with enough thought they made sense, "The way I see it, mercy is different depending on the context used. If our enemies beg for mercy they are plainly asking for forgiveness that they will not receive. If we show mercy, though, it is us basically apologizing for having to bring their end. They both mean the same thing but can be different depending on the point of view."

Sure, Wesley had a point – don't give forgiveness where it isn't due – but he made it just as confusing as Artemis would try to put it. Chaos kicked around the sand with his feet gently, "I see now. So he wants us to show pity then?"

"In a way."

"Hell no," Chaos shook his head and sheathed his sword, "Pity leads to defeat and I know that's not what he wants. He wants victory and peace but we cannot achieve such if we act like cowards and apologize to the greatest scum for having to bring them to justice."

Wesley stood up and watched as Chaos began to walk off back towards the camp, "I know it may be hard for you to understand, but-"

"Shut it!" Chaos stopped and began shouting angrily, "You are full of lies. I'm starting to wonder how the hell you even became a paladin in the first place."

After this day Chaos never really liked Wesley. In all honesty, they never talked to each other or had any relative connection beforehand. To Wesley, it seemed normal – many people disliked him and he was absolutely fine with that. Hate was just a feeling that he was resistant to. With constant fighting in war, how could you not ignore it?

* * *

Over the following seven days, until Chaos was called into training again with Wesley Montoya, he would spend the days on the battlefield and the nights in his tent, either cursing to himself or his tent mates about how his life sucks or reading one of Herobrine's books.

In fact, each night Herobrine would notice Chaos becoming more and more enveloped in the novels and the messages they expressed. Once Chaos had finished reading _Aether_ he moved onto _Hippotamus and the Restless Case of the Bacterial Disguise of the Man Formerly Called Himself_ and then back to _Aether_. It was astonishing to Herobrine.

"Say, Herobrine," Chaos refused to acknowledge his friend as Steve, "I had a strange dream last night."

Herobrine sat up on his cot one night. All the other tent mates were out drinking.

"It was a strange one," Chaos remarked and threw _Aether_aside, "I was standing in a valley. It was a massive, beautiful valley with roses everywhere. Every word I spoke, no matter if it was loud or not, echoed throughout and I felt like I was never alone as long as that voice was with me."

"That definitely does sound strange," Herobrine commented and lay back down on his cot, "My dreams usually consist of a dragon flying overhead. Dragons don't exist, so I have no idea why I even dream about such things."

Both of them laughed.

Then there was silence.

"I remember," Chaos quietly began to speak as Herobrine put out the torches, "I remember my childhood like it was yesterday. It was ripped from me by my own temptations and the chaos of the outside world. Ha, I was told by my dad that they named me Chaos because I wanted to go around the world so much but didn't know how dangerous it was. They were idiots, though, so…"

"Where are they now?"

Chaos breathed in heavily, "Dead."

Herobrine didn't speak.

"They died at The Battle of Onyx."

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright. I don't want your sympathy. They were idiots, like I said, teaching me all the wrong things and telling me to not get involved with the pain and suffering that the rest of Anascentia goes through. I said 'to hell with that' and here I am. What they said has no impact on me. I'm my own man. I feel like a new user."

Herobrine sighed heavily, "Nice."

"Definitely," Chaos said before going deep into thought, "Maybe I'm being too harsh on Wesley."

"What do you mean?"

Chaos rolled over in his cot, "Well, I've been a real ass to him."

"Then don't be. He's an accepting dude."

"Yet so many people hate him."

"_Because_he's an accepting dude," Herobrine sat up and looked over to Chaos in the dark, "There aren't many people like him."

There was more silence.

"Good night, Herobrine." Chaos calmly said.

"Likewise." Herobrine responded.

* * *

When Chaos' next training day arrived, Herobrine thought nothing of it. He simply woke up and wandered about like he had done last time, hoping that Chaos had truly apologized to Wesley for being arrogant. If he hadn't, it wouldn't be too out of the ordinary, but if he had it would be just as normal.

Meanwhile, out in the desert, Chaos and Wesley stood their ground. Chaos felt more confident in his actions and thought a bit more clearly on all the possible ways to get the upper hand on his opponent. Of course, it would be difficult any way he tried since he was facing a paladin, but the more he can trip Wesley up the better.

In the end, he had nearly gone blind from staring at the sun too much.

"Come on, get up," Wesley helped Chaos from up off the ground, "That's enough for today. You're definitely getting better but be careful on all the possible ways that I could trip you up. You look ahead and plan on how you want to get me but you fail to realize that I'm doing the exact same thing."

Chaos nodded, feeling a bit more understanding after talking with Herobrine, "Alright, I'll try to do that next time. It's just a bit difficult to think all these plans out at the same time. It's strange how people like you are masters at something like that."

"Everything takes practice. Just like beginning to craft as a child, you just need to try again and again until you feel more comfortable with it. How many times did it take you before you successfully crafted wood into wooden planks? How old were you?" Wesley asked as they began their trek back to Conley camp.

"I was, uh," Chaos looked at the ground nervously, "I was ten."

Wesley was incredibly surprised, "Ten? Most people learn at five."

"My parents were never the most productive," Chaos uttered, "Maybe that's why they didn't survive in the end."

A strong wind blew over them.

"I'm so sorry, Chaos. I had no idea it was like that." Wesley apologized.

"No, it's fine," Chaos stopped and looked out across the desert, "They died just like anybody could have in Onyx. Luckily I was old enough to survive on my own and that's when I met Herobrine in Imperial City. He's like the brother I never had."

"Only child?"

Chaos shook his head, "I had a sister but she died as well."

Wesley wanted to get out of this subject now.

"Before the Battle of Onyx."

"You don't have to talk about this."

"Oh, but I do," Chaos began walking again, "It makes me feel better."

Wesley rolled his eyes, "Fine, fine, do whatever you want."

"Sometimes when I'm alone I get under the covers and-"

"Don't say another word!" Wesley shouted.

"I said that this makes me feel better."

"Well, it makes me feel worse. Just… Let's be quiet until we get back until camp, okay?" Wesley said and hurried on ahead.

Chaos smiled.

* * *

It was very rarely that General Artemis called off all operations for an entire day, but when it did happen people had mixed feelings. Sure, it was nice to be given time to rest but there was also the fact that there was still nothing to do in the camp or for miles. Many people actually thought about going to Fontaine or Imperial City but were ordered not to because it was too far.

As for what the people actually decided to do that day, it was, again, mixed. Some trained; others talked; some even read, including Herobrine. He sat inside his tent, flipping through _Aether_and underlining all key passages that he deemed memorable, hoping to find more meaning to the themes and perhaps even discover something that nobody had seen in the text before.

"Yo, Steve," Otto shouted from outside the tent, "Come on out, will ya?"

"Why?" Herobrine set down _Aether_.

Otto pushed through the entrance and stood in front of Herobrine's cot, "Did you hear about the ghost boy?"

"Ghost boy?"

Otto seemed unusually excited, "A few weeks ago Artemis assigned me the task of finding this child that people had reported to have seen at night. I've been given permission to go outside the camp _at night_! Do you know how awesome that is?"

"Nicely done. Is that it?" Herobrine stood up and walked outside where everyone seemed to be out and about the camp.

"Not even the half of it," Otto was getting more and more excited with every word he said, "I spotted the ghost boy multiple times and even saw his hideous red eyes! After that I designed multiple traps lure him out and capture him. Here's where the really freaky things begin to happen – every single time a trap went off, an Endermen was caught dead in it."

Herobrine looked over at Otto unsurprised, "And?"

"Endermen, when they die, disappear, just like all mobs! Their dead bodies are left in the traps, which shouldn't be happening. To add onto that, this makes me wonder if the child is killing the Endermen and leaving them behind for me to find?" Otto looked around for more people to tell his tale to.

"I dunno. You should look more into it. Maybe it's symbolic of something." Herobrine theorized.

Then a crazy thought ran through Otto's head.

"Oh my…" Otto uttered and nearly collapsed, "What if…"

"What? What if what?" Herobrine cringed at his friend's overreaction.

"What if," Otto stared crazily into Herobrine's eyes, "What if the child is warning me of something?"

"Like what?"

Otto looked around anxiously before leaning close to Herobrine's ears, "The Endersend."

Herobrine pushed him away, "You're looking too far into this."

Otto didn't even hear Herobrine; he just ran off, running up to random people to warn them of a possible Endersend attack in the future.

"Alright, now where is Chaos?" Herobrine looked around, noticing that his friend wasn't in sight anywhere. There wasn't any training that day either so his absence was seen as truly mysterious to him this time. He walked on over to Artemis' tent and entered in without permission.

On the inside, he saw Artemis and Wesley sitting around the fire, discussing something that sounded to be serious. They both stopped and looked up to Herobrine. The general pointed to the rug beside him, "Come and sit down, Herobrine."

General Artemis was donned in his intricate general uniform while Wesley was wearing a white wool robe. The paladin stood up and threw a nearby piece of wood into the fire, "Herobrine, where is Chaos?"

"That's actually what I came to ask you. I thought you might know."

Wesley shook his head and looked to the front of the tent, "I'm worried for that boy. He seems shaken."

"Shaken, you say?" Artemis sounded intrigued and worried.

"He spoke to me about his parents' deaths." Wesley explained.

Herobrine was now brought into the ordeal, "He told me about that as well."

"Did he?" Wesley looked to Herobrine, "Did he say anything else?"

Herobrine looked down at the fire, "No. He told me about a dream he had, though, where he was in a valley full of roses. The sound of his own voice comforted him, though."

"That's odd," Artemis thought and stood up, "All valleys are barren."

"Like I said, it was a dream." Herobrine repeated clearer this time.

Wesley looked to the general, "I'll begin my search for him at once."

"Herobrine, why don't you join him?" Artemis urged.

Herobrine stood up and looked to the general, "Why me?"

"You are Chaos' best friend. It'll make finding him not too difficult I think."

This was a sound explanation to Herobrine. Without further questioning, he followed Wesley Montoya out into the camp and beyond the camp borders. They began to travel across the desert, keeping their eyes peeled for Chaos anywhere. What he would want in the desert was unknown to them but they stayed motivated and kept moving at all costs.

Eventually Wesley noticed the familiar rocks appear in the horizon. They were the same rocks that he had taken Chaos to train by. He began rushing across the remaining desert to them, leaving Herobrine to try and catch up. When they did reach the training ground, they found Chaos going through the motions as if he was in a sword fight.

"Chaos," Wesley chuckled, catching his breath, "You don't need to train this much."

"But I do." Chaos said.

"You're doing fine. General Artemis is very pleased." Wesley complimented.

"Fine isn't good enough." Chaos said.

Herobrine paid close attention to the way Chaos fought the air. His strikes seemed hasty and forced; his thrusts gave him some sort of pleasure. Of course he didn't say anything since he wanted Wesley to just move on from Chaos' training sessions.

After showing off some of the moves he had been practicing, Chaos departed from the training ground with Wesley and Herobrine, continuing to hold the sword firmly in his hand, "When we train again, I know I'll win."

"I'm sure you will. You're doing excellent work." Wesley complimented again.

"Indeed, I will win," Chaos closed his eyes, "That is an absolute truth."

* * *

Oddly enough, many soldiers did not want their day off to end. As it came to a close, they all gathered towards the middle of the camp and drank their hearts out. Even Herobrine joined in at the urge of Otto, who had calmed down from his psychotic freak out earlier. Throughout the event Herobrine talked to nearly everyone before realizing something didn't feel right.

"Chaos, are you in there?" Herobrine called to the inside of his tent.

"What do you want?" Chaos emerged from the inside.

Herobrine grabbed his friend's hand and pulled him outside, "Come on and enjoy the party! It's not every day that we get to have something like this. It's usually just us fighting day in and day out. Most day offs consist of us sitting around and doing nothing. This," He signaled to the party, "This is something!"

"I'd rather not," Chaos said and began to enter back into the tent.

"What, are you reading Scott Thomas' books again?" Herobrine rolled his eyes.

"No, I'm writing my own."

This was not what Herobrine had expected from Chaos. The guy really only enjoyed what was given to him, not making things to give to others. This was something new from the soldier. Herobrine looked inside and, sure enough, saw his friend hunched over on his cot, scribbling down words on a piece of paper.

"What's it about?" Herobrine asked.

Chaos scooted away, "None of your business."

"Come on! Just a hint?"

Chaos sighed, "It's about spiritual rebirth."

"I see. Inspired by _Aether_, right?"

"Maybe."

Herobrine chuckled and left the tent, "Good luck."

"Thanks," Chaos smiled, "You're the only one who's ever said that."

Herobrine stared off into the distance with concern.

* * *

On the night before his last training session, Chaos did not sleep at all. He sat up all night, writing and re-writing the rough draft of his story, called _The Artemis Complhex_. A few other titles had been chosen as possibilities (_Manifest of a Maniac, Chaos Theory, The Lone Wolf, Nether_) but none had been to his liking like _The Artemis Complex_was.

Just as the sun began to rise he hid the papers underneath his cot and grabbed his sword before walking outside. He breathed in and out multiple times. He smiled and began walking to the exit of the camp. On the other side, he looked back at the camp and put up his middle finger towards Artemis' tent.

"Quite the complex, eh?" He said to himself and walked off.

* * *

"Herobrine!"

The soldier jumped out of his cot and rushed outside to see Otto standing before him, his fully polished gun in hand and a crazy look on his face. He was marching in place, his gun held snug in his arms. It was also loaded.

"Huh? Gonna rant some more about that ghost kid or somethin'?" Herobrine complained, groggy from sleep.

Otto shook his head, "Artemis requested to see you."

Herobrine rolled his eyes and walked over to the general's tent. Like all the other times, he just walked in and saw Artemis seated in front of the fire. He was staring at the entrance as if waiting patiently for Herobrine's arrival, "Herobrine, Chaos is missing again."

"Again?" Herobrine realized he hadn't even bothered to look for Chaos that morning.

"Yes, again. Wesley already went out to find him. If you could go and accompany him I'd appreciate it." Artemis ordered and pushed Herobrine outside.  
Herobrine turned towards the inside of the camp, a strange feeling erupting inside of him.

Indeed, he was nervous.

* * *

Wesley knew immediately where to search for Chaos so he didn't waste any time in travelling there. He was in his armor this time since he planned to train Chaos for the last time later that day and wanted to see his pupil's full potential. He had high hopes for him because of how committed he was to training.

When the paladin arrived at the rocks he saw Chaos standing in the middle of them.

Except he was just standing there.

There was no training occurring.

Chaos was just standing there.

Staring.

"Chaos, don't wear yourself out. Your final test is later." Wesley advised as he approached his student.

"Not later," Chaos smirked, "Now."

Wesley stopped and noticed that Chaos had his weapon drawn and was slowly inching into a fighting stance, "Now? I'm not ready, though. Our training sessions occur in the afternoon. Same will go for your final test."

"Now." Chaos said and ran at Wesley.

The paladin was surprised by his student's sudden outburst and rolled out of the way. He grabbed the hilt of his steel sword and jumped into a defense position. He kept a close eye on Chaos' movement, primarily in his legs, "Chaos, what has gotten into you?"

"Nothing. We fight," Chaos shouted and slashed vertically at Wesley, hitting his blade with great force, "Now."

Wesley was shocked by the strength that Chaos gave off. He nearly lost possession of his sword because of his opponent's great power. He jumped back and began to pace sideways, preparing for an opening to strike. Finally, he stopped and ran forward, slicing horizontally but missing. Chaos sidestepped and drove the tip of his generic sword into his mentor's left leg.

A great shriek cried out across the desert as Wesley looked down to see his armor penetrated, his leg beginning to give off blood. He pushed himself onto his feet after nearly falling over and looked at Chaos. He prepared his sword and thought to himself, _This is not Chaos. This is something else.  
Something far worse_.

"We fight now." Chaos said again and slashed diagonally at Wesley, who blocked it better this time.

"Chaos!" Wesley shouted angrily, beginning to fear for his student, "What is going on? This isn't you!"

Chaos' eyes shot wide open as he pushed Wesley onto his back.

"This isn't me?" Chaos shouted, "You don't know me then."

Wesley tried to stab at Chaos but was disarmed instantly.

"The truth is that war didn't kill my parents." Chaos kneeled on Wesley's chest, placing his sword along the paladin's neck.

Wesley gulped.

Chaos smirked, "I did."

* * *

With only a vague idea of where Chaos and Wesley might've been, Herobrine stepped out into the desert and began running. The clouds above were coming together to look chaotic with a possible storm later that day. He did not want to get caught in the midst of a flood.

He felt incredibly relieved when he first saw the tops of the spiral rocks appear past some dunes. He slowed down a bit and began to notice a figure lying on the ground. He was breathing calmly, relaxed that he had found the place, but soon became a bit more nervous when he noticed that was it.

Just a single body.

"Oh my…" Herobrine stopped as he realized what had happened.

The soldier sprinted over to the training ground and slid beside Wesley's bloody body, his hands getting covered in the blood soaked sand as he tried to pick up the dead paladin.

"Wesley! Speak to me!" Herobrine shouted. He leaned over his chest to hear a heartbeat but found none. He even began slapping him to see if he would come to.

Nothing.

Then he remembered.

"Chaos!" Herobrine stood up and looked around, "Chaos, are you all right?"

No response.

"Chaos!" Herobrine shouted, beginning to lose his mind, "Please don't be dead!"

He was left alone with a dead body as a storm approached. What to do.


	3. The Corruption

Anascentia's weather patterns were some of the most predictable around. You could tell a storm was gonna hit before it even formed! This made people who desired to be meteorologists seem like lazy asses who couldn't do anything else so decided to go for the easiest job around. However, the fact that such weather patterns were easily identifiable led to a rise in anxiety. After people began to pay more attention to incoming weather forecasts, the anxiety of the average person raised from 32% to 78%.

Of course, most of that raise could be attributed to Herobrine.

No one had any words when he came back with the body of Wesley Montoya in the middle of a storm. Rain drenched the dead body, washing away dried blood and soaking the paladin's once bushy hair. Herobrine wasn't much better off, looking completely desperate and terrified of what was to come.

As he approached the front gate of Conley Faction with the body in his hands, a crowd gathered around the front gate. They all watched in awe and suspense over the strange sight. Some couldn't even bare to watch since Herobrine was seen as the most trustworthy person in the entire camp to many.

"Did he do it?" Some people asked.

"Poor Wesley…" Others said.

"Never really liked him." A bunch of other people said.

A divide formed in the group. General Artemis stood in the back, staring onwards with horror as Herobrine finally let go and dropped Wesley's body to the ground. The general walked down the line, the rain beginning to pick up and add to the somber atmosphere. He kneeled down and stroked the paladin's forehead with his fingers, whispering some sort of chant or prayer.

Then he looked up at Herobrine, "Come with me."

The two left the scene and walked back to Artemis' tent. Medics began to pile onto the scene to dispose of Wesley Montoya's body in the proper manner. Usually burials for higher ups such as generals or paladins resulted in private military funerals. However, those had become rather scarce all of sudden with no reason. Many petitioned to have it return to that way but nothing changed.

Inside the tent, Artemis rubbed his eyes and dropped his sword to the ground. He wrapped himself in a blanket and looked at Herobrine, his eyes full of emotion. It was an emotion Herobrine had never seen his general with before. It showed that Artemis was just as hurt inside as anyone else was.

Herobrine sat down by the fire, "I didn't do it."

"Who did?" Artemis sat down beside him.

Such question was valid. The only other person available to the scene was Chaos and Herobrine knew for sure that his friend would never do something so wicked and vile. He continued to wonder whether it could have been an ambush by other factions. If so, what became of Chaos himself?

"I don't know. It could have been one of the other factions."

Artemis shook his head in denial, "No it could not have. Peace is slowly being established between the factions. They would never do something so merciless. You have no solid evidence that it was one of them, either."

"Sure, I may lack the evidence, but what evidence do I need? Who else could have done this crime?" Herobrine thought back to Chaos and where he could have gone.

The general stood up and put out the fire in the middle of the tent, "Chaos."

This accusation filled Herobrine with much anger, "What evidence do you have that it was him? You are putting the blame on him when there is nothing that shows him to be involved in the slightest."

"He was missing at the crime scene. What do you think that means?"

"Whoever did this must have gone after him."

Artemis shook his head solemnly, "No, my friend. It means that Chaos ran away from the law."

The front of the tent flew open with a gust of the exceedingly strong winds outside. Rain poured in, making puddles everywhere while the soldiers outside retreated to their own shelters. Artemis walked to the front and stared outside at the dark clouds in the sky.

"By no means is it an absolute truth," Artemis said, "But it is the only truth at this point that we can choose as a possibility."

Herobrine's attention began to slowly divert from Artemis' accusations to the fact that the general was _much_more different than he had expected. He learned more about him and all but how he acted then in contrast to how he acted when they first met was appalling. Herobrine was shocked that they were the same person.

However, he knew that what Artemis was saying had sense to it.

"Why don't you rest, Herobrine?" Artemis suggested, "You seem stressed. Take a few days off and get your mind straight. We'll handle the investigation from here, alright?"

Though reluctant at first, Herobrine nodded and moved to exit the tent before turning around to face the general, "Remember, though," He said, obviously irritated that life was taking a sudden and drastic turn, "If he did do it," He looked down to the ground, "Or if he didn't, doesn't matter," He exited the tent, "Don't kill him."

The general nodded, "Aye aye."

* * *

Now that such drama had mostly subsided, another matter took effect in Herobrine's convoluted mind. While he tried to wrap his head around who Chaos may have become, he had to decide how he would spend the next few days. He had been ordered to remain off the battlefield but there was nothing left for him to really do. Most soldiers were beginning to leave since it seemed like The Dominion War was about to come to an end after General Artemis supposedly made peace with Swing Faction.

Herobrine approached his tent, night beginning to fall upon the tragic world, and immediately put his focus on Chaos' sleeping cot. The book he was writing was laying there, halfway underneath the white wool covers. It looked to be around sixty pages long, definitely a feat for being composed in only a matter of days.

Upon further inspection, he noticed several odd things about the rough draft of "The Artemis Complex" such as the addition of illustrations and randomly bolded words. Without much of anything else to do, Herobrine took a seat and began to read the fine print:  
_  
A lonely world it is, full of __**monsters**__ that have nothing to hide. In truth, though, we are all __**monsters**__ with much to hide. We call creatures that are theorized to be here first __**monsters**__ because we don't know better. We're just like them in their eyes. We're all __**monsters**__ heading to the same place in the great __**sky**__.  
Long ago, when I was only around six, my mother told me of a place called __**Babylon**__ that was said to be the holiest place of all. She spoke of great destinies that were intertwined there and all the possibilities for __**happiness**__. There I asked myself the question that changed me forever.  
__**What is happiness?**_

"Interesting," Herobrine flipped through the rest of the pages, skimming over the words to analyze the bold. All that was really bolded was monsters, happiness, sky, and power. He went into deep concentration on why those words might have been bolded but eventually amounted to nothing. There was simply no correlation between the bold and Chaos.

There must have been, though, hence why he bolded them.

He threw the collection of pages to the end of the cot and walked over to his own. He lay down and looked up at the roof of the tent, thinking back to the last time he talked to Chaos. They were sitting in bed, surrounded by night, talking about dreams. Chaos had his odd dreams about valleys while Herobrine spoke of the non-existent dragons.

Dreams are just that, though. Non-existent thoughts of what could be.

Could Herobrine's view of Chaos be just that? A dream?

"Yo, Steve, come on out here." Otto whispered from out front of the tent.

Herobrine exited the shelter, "What?"

"Come and see the ghost child with me, will ya?"

"Why would I do that?"

Otto threw his arm around Herobrine's shoulder, "'Cause I asked ya to."

"The general didn't have anything to do with this, did he?"

"What? Why?" Otto began leading Herobrine to the front gate of the camp, "I don't understand why you seem so lonely. You're a swell guy but so quiet sometimes. It's about time I take you and show you what a ghost really looks like."

They stepped out into the desert with Herobrine trying to force himself back into the camp against Otto's strength, "I'm an introvert. I prefer the quiet, really. Not going out and trying to find ghosts that probably aren't even there."

"The ghost is totally there. I saw it with my own eyes!" Otto began to hike out into the desert. Herobrine finally decided to give up in entering the camp again. He followed Otto to who knows where to find this "ghost".

As they continued onwards, the dunes began to grow in size. From afar they could easily have been mistaken for mountains by those who were unfamiliar with the Sand Sea. The moon hung overhead, casting a bizarre glow over the sea of sand itself. It added to the atmosphere of that night's ghost hunt.

Finally the duo stopped towards the top of one particular large sand dune. Otto got down on his stomach and stared toward a sort of valley between that dune and another one of equal size across from them. There was strange mist forming in the miniature valley, floating weightlessly away before disappearing.

"The ghost," Otto whispered and signaled for Herobrine to get down as well, "I saw the ghost in that valley there. The ghost is real, I tell you, but no one will believe me other than General Artemis. Once you see him, though, you'll know and people will have to believe me."

Herobrine nodded, growing tired.

"Whether or not we see it, you _have_to tell everyone you saw it. 'Kay?"

Herobrine nodded, nearly dozing off completely.

An eerie silence devoured them.

Otto nudged Herobrine, "I think I see something."

Herobrine shot awake and stared into the valley. To his surprise, he did see things as well. They didn't have bodies, though, and looked like floating, yellow eyes with a radiant glow. They stared at the duo before disappearing, just like the fog.

"We're sleep deprived," Herobrine noted, "It's nothing. Let's go back."

"Dude, when I last went to find the ghost child, those same things appeared beforehand. If they are appearing now, then the ghost should be out soon. We need to wait just a bit longer, all right?" Otto pleaded. Of course, he didn't really care for whatever Herobrine wanted. He just needed excuses to stay out and see the ghost.

Gradually the floating eyes disappeared until there was not a single one left.

It was back to being only the fog.

"That's it," Herobrine stood up and began to slide down the dune, "I'm out."

A fierce wind blew over him as he began to walk.

Then he felt it.

Something was off. Was it the wind?

"Herobrine!" Otto called out.

"Huh?" Herobrine turned around. It wasn't usual for Otto to call him by his proper name.

Herobrine ran back up the dune and looked into the valley of fog. There weren't yellow eyes, but instead black and red. It was a short figure with long, black hair staring back them. It looked to have aged rather quickly, sporting features that a middle aged man would have. The child stared at them,  
standing completely still with his arms dangling by his side.

Otto waved, "We have to communicate." He whispered to Herobrine.

Herobrine nodded in agreement before standing up all the way, "Hi there."

The child laughed.

"What?" Both Otto and Herobrine reacted.

The child laughed again.

"Are you okay?" Otto asked.

The child began to walk towards them, emitting a white glow off his body, "We are to not be afraid of monsters. Instead we are to embrace their power as we are all monsters who are able to craft our own destinies. All monsters have destinies and powers that lead us to eternal happiness. What is happiness, though? A mere dream formed from the great spirits of the sky."

The sight of the child began to become more unsettling as he approached. Herobrine and Otto turned and began running, occasionally stopping to look back and see if the "ghost" was following them. Every single time they would see it, walking slowly with a horrifying grin spread out across its face.

"Power is chaos that makes us happy." The child began running.

Otto didn't hesitate to make his escape from the scene.

Herobrine denied running away as an option, however.

With a sudden burst of bravery, he removed his sword and prepared to strike down the ghost in case it was to attack. He stood his ground, holding the blade across his chest in preparation for what could very well be a battle with some supernatural entity.

To his surprise, the child stopped, replacing the grin with a look of fear.

"Chaos," Herobrine said, "You know him, don't you?"

The child grew wide-eyed and began trembling.

"I'm not gonna hurt you and neither is-" Herobrine turned to introduce Otto but, alas, the fellow soldier had already fled, "my friend."

"Friend?" The child repeated ominously, his voice echoing with a strange quake to it despite there not being any walls to bounce off of.

Herobrine sheathed his sword and held out his hand, "My name is Herobrine."

The child looked at the soldier's hand with intrigue.

"Herobrine," Herobrine repeated with a smile, "My name is Herobrine."

"Herobrine?" The child repeated.

Herobrine smiled, "Yes! That is my name! Now, what is your name? Where do you come from?"

The child sat down in the sand, "Name… My name…"

"Do you not remember?"

The child went into deep concentration, "Name… My name…"

"It's okay if you don't-"

"Eligos."

Herobrine was caught off guard, "Excuse me?"

"Eligos," the child said, "My name is Eligos."

Herobrine sat down across from the child, watching as the young child stared back at him with curiosity, "I see. Well, it's nice to meet you, Eligos. How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I am twelve years old," Eligos tried to hold up the proper number of fingers before realizing that he couldn't, "I'm almost thirteen, I think. I can't remember my own birthday."

"You can't?"

Eligos shook his head, "I've never celebrated it since I never had parents."

"Everyone has parents, though," Herobrine patted the child's black hair, "Just like a childhood. You can't live without a childhood, now can you?"

There was silence as Eligos did not reply.

Herobrine decided not to wait any longer, "Do you know my friend Chaos?"

"Chaos." Eligos repeated ominously again.

"Yes, Chaos. Do you know him? I can't find him."

Eligos looked up and past Herobrine, "He desires power."

Herobrine turned around and noticed that the child was staring off at Skyward Mountain in the distance, "Chaos is there? On the mountain?"

"He desires power," Eligos said, his image beginning to abruptly fade like mist, "I aspire to be happy as well. We are all monsters, though. Monsters that desire power and, in turn, happiness."

Before Herobrine could ask anything else, Eligos disappeared.

"What the hell?" Otto appeared behind Herobrine shortly after Eligos vanished.

Herobrine stood up and began walking alongside Otto, "I have something I need to do now. I need to return to the camp immediately."

"Of course. Where else would we go?" Otto asked, "So did you learn anything?"

"The ghost is no ghost but a mere child named Eligos."

"And you didn't ask why he was out in the desert?"

Herobrine looked Otto in the eye, "Probably the same reason we're out here."

* * *

It wasn't even morning when Herobrine entered Artemis' tent without permission or warning. He stood in the shelter, noticing the lack of a fire, and watched as the general awoke from his slumber against the wall. Artemis rolled around a bit before sitting up, lighting the fire, and preparing to hear what Herobrine had to say.

"General Artemis, I think I found out where Chaos went." Herobrine admitted.

Artemis continued to work the fire while listening, "Where? We haven't been able to find any trace of him. I thought he had just dropped off the face of the server."

"Skyward Mountain."

The general stopped and looked up, "Why in hell would he be there?"

"Otto brought me along to see this ghost that he was making a big deal over and I had a full conversation with it," Herobrine began explaining, making himself comfortable on the pile of blankets, "Turns out there was no ghost but a child named Eligos who knows Chaos somehow. He told me to head to Skyward Mountain."

Artemis seemed a bit worried, "I dunno. I may have to look into this a bit-"

"I'm heading there now."

"You can't be serious!" Artemis was astounded by Herobrine's sudden revelation. Sure enough, Herobrine was standing up and preparing to leave, his sword dangling by his side, "You have a great chance of being killed if you head there alone! Why not wait and let me send more soldiers with you?"

Herobrine shook his head, "Chaos is my problem at this point. Let me handle it."

"But-"

"Say nothing more. Whether or not I return in the morning matters not. Whether or not Chaos survives matters not. What only matters is if the truth is revealed. I will not cower any longer behind a wall that bars me from my best friend's inner feelings. Something is wrong with him if he really is running away and I plan to find out." Herobrine declared and exited.

As Herobrine began to walk to the front gate, Artemis ran out of the tent and followed him out to the desert, "Herobrine, don't do this. You are one of the finest soldiers I have. If Chaos truly did kill Wesley then you wouldn't be able to defeat him. I don't want you to die or suffer."

"Suffering matters not," Herobrine continued onwards, "Nor does my safety."

Artemis stood and watched as Herobrine marched onwards into the twilight.

"Aye aye, sir." Artemis saluted.

* * *

Despite feeling a bit hopeless while ascending Skyward Mountain, Herobrine knew that there was no turning back. In a way, what Chaos and Eligos said was true – power leads to happiness, but more so in a defensive manner. No one in absolute control could be happy as no one else would be happy.

Hope was but a dream to Herobrine at that point. He climbed the steeps mountain side, tripping and sliding on the rocks and pebbles and sticks that covered it. He was able to just barely see where he was going thanks to the light from early dawn. It wasn't nearly enough to get him to wherever he would be going safely, but it was decent enough to keep him in the know of his surroundings.

Speaking of which, where the hell _was_Herobrine going?

Up until reaching the top of the second or third steep slope of the mountain side did he forget to ponder where he would find Chaos in the massive landmass known as Skyward Mountain. The possibilities of where he could have gone were endless and yet he somehow had a gut instinct on where he was going. With that in mind, he continued onwards.

Sure, there were mobs and animals, but they seemed rather harmless. They didn't bother dealing with Herobrine and went about their own business. Some of the animals and mobs even interacted with each other peacefully. This was in a more wooded area, though, where trees became more abundant than rocks.

Herobrine began to lose that gut instinct here.

Sitting against a tall, lively tree, Herobrine looked around and saw how loving the wolves were to each other. The most abundant animal in that particular area were the wolves but there were still plenty of others such as cows and chickens. The trees looked to be untouched by crafters, growing massive and serving the inhabitants well.  
_  
Sniff sniff sniff.  
_  
Something wet began to rub on his right arm just as he was dosing off. Turning his head, he saw a wolf looking at him with watery eyes. A pack of more wolves sat behind it, watching Herobrine carefully. In particular, they were looking at his blade which rested on the grass beside him.

In Anascentia, wolves were seen as incredibly intelligent. They could understand user commands easier than any other animal or mob. In a similar way, they were able to communicate with users by understanding what the users utilized themselves, such as the sword for combat. So whenever a wolf were to look at a user's sword, that meant trouble.

Herobrine stood up, carrying his sword and following the pack of wolves through the woods. As they continued on, the population of trees began to dwindle more and more until they arrived at a more desert location atop the mountain. It was craggy with spiral rocks and rock formations everywhere. They eventually came to a narrow passage with stairs leading downwards.

"What's the matter?" Herobrine wondered to himself while descending the stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs Herobrine and the wolves found themselves in a massive crater. It went on for miles with deep holes placed randomly in its ground. The sheer size of the crater didn't grab Herobrine's attention, though.

It was Chaos, standing towards the middle of the crater with two large beasts on either side of him, chained to the ground. They roared furiously, attempting to break free but failing each and every time.

"You found me." Chaos noted.

Herobrine approached his friend, "What is the meaning of this?"

Chaos looked at both of the beasts, "These are what will give me ultimate power."

"What do you mean?"

"Simple, Herobrine," Chaos approached Herobrine slowly, "With the death of both these Endersend in just a few moments I shall become the strongest user in existence. I will be gifted with the power to smite all foes with but a single slash."

What was Chaos saying?

"I will become an Enderwar." Chaos smiled.

Herobrine stepped back. He grew more and more nervous the more he thought about what Chaos might be trying to accomplish, "An Enderwar? What the hell is that? And what the hell is going on? You've been accused of murder back in Conley and now you're about to try and slay two Endersend by yourself? Hell, how did you chain them down?"

"Calm yourself," Chaos said and watched as the terrified wolves behind Herobrine fled the scene, "An Enderwar is simply a person given the power of a god. An example would be a user and an Endersend's power combined. That would be me. I will be the first and only Enderwar."

"Why?" Herobrine's head was beginning to ache, "You never acted like this before!"

Chaos unsheathed his generic sword and pointed it to the Endersend on his right, "I never told you who I was on the inside, Herobrine. You only looked on in wonder of what I could be capable of which ultimately led to your downfall. For countless days and nights I pondered whether we both could rule together but I came upon the realization that there can only be one god. One god of chaos, to be exact."

Anger began to flow through Herobrine.

"So you _did_kill Wesley Montoya?" Herobrine shouted.

Chaos nodded.

"Why? How could you?" Herobrine raised his voice even louder, "I stood up for you when everyone accused you of being the suspect! Why would you hurt such an innocent and precious man like him?"

"You have yet to understand what innocence really is," Chaos became incredibly serious, "I lost my innocence when a figure began appearing in my dreams and telling me to commit the worst possible crime and kill my family. When that was said and done, I lost all my innocence. Wesley merely tried to preach to me that I wasn't good enough to fight him when he had no idea what I had been through."

Herobrine could barely understand what Chaos was trying to express.

"I killed him because I needed to fulfill my desire of acting upon this hatred of mine. I met you and all that built up anger – all that hatred that was about to reckon the world- had disappeared somewhere. You made me realize the beauty of the world. Now that you stand before me here, expecting to learn something, I can clearly say that my hatred remains and will only harm you the more you stay here."

"All this time you've been trying to become powerful like this?"

"I thought I was fine after becoming a part of Conley but the heat of war changed me for the worse. My desire to kill continued and led to Wesley attempting to tame it. You already know how that ended, though, so I will stop here and say once again to leave while you have your life."

"Once I leave you'll be killing these innocent Endersend for their power?"

"What else do I have to lose?"

Herobrine ran forward and slashed his sword at Chaos, leaving a massive cut on his chest. The psychotic user rolled backwards, shouting in agony as blood ran down his torso. He regained ground and stared at Herobrine, surprised.

"Yes, the desire to kill flows through you as well!" Chaos said and began hacking at Herobrine. The two began exchanging slashes and blocks, occasionally kicking one another in the head or stomach. Blood began to cover the dirt crater while the roars of the Endersend rang in the fighters' ears constantly.

Chaos back flipped and vertically slashed at Herobrine, who stepped out of the way and sent his sword into Chaos' chest. It barely missed the heart but still did incredible damage to him. Blood began rushing out as the sword was removed and he fell to his back, gasping for air.

"Is this… the end?" Chaos said, staring at the sky.

The Endersend continued to cry, pulling at their chains.

"No… no such thing as an end…" Chaos tried to pull himself to his feet, "Only power remains…"

Herobrine stepped back, ignoring the various wounds that covered his body, "Give in, Chaos. You have nothing left to live for."

"But that is merely a myth!" Chaos regained his balance, "Power is the essence of true happiness," He smiled and raised his sword to the cloudy sky,  
"That is an absolute truth."

The Endersend on Chaos' left began to roar even more furiously. It was a massive black horse with a man attached to its back, his torso fusing with the horse itself. The man looked not like a man in the face rather a female with painful emotion.

Chaos closed his eyes and began chanting, "Oh Paimon of the great sea of lava, grant me permission to trade you eternal life within my soul for your power to give me my immortal life."

Herobrine looked on as a yellow light began to surround Paimon.

The Endersend on Chaos' right began to roar furiously now. It was a massive, round being with clocks hanging from all its sides. Bizarre symbols replaced the numbers. There was no face; rather, there were black holes all around the body that a voice emitted from.

"Oh Vassago of the great land of the future, grant me permission to trade you eternal life within my soul for your power to give me my immortal life."  
A yellow light began to surround Vassago.

"Chaos!" Herobrine shouted. A chaotic storm began to form above them. Lighting appeared, striking down on Chaos' sword repeatedly. With each strike of lightning the Endersend would grow more restless.

Chaos looked back at Herobrine, "Judgment has come, my friend."

"I won't allow this to continue!" Herobrine ran at Chaos and drove his sword straight into Chaos, stabbing him in the heart.

Chaos began to cry abnormally as his wounds opened up again. Lightning continued to strike down on his sword, causing great pain to the Endersend. The lights around them grew brighter and larger until the demons were completely consumed by the great radiance.

"This is it!" Chaos laughed through the pain, "I will become-"

"Nothing!" Herobrine shouted before letting out an incredible scream.

Light consumed both of them as the world completely faded away.

There was only cries and then…

Nothing.


	4. The Garden of Suffering

Eternity grew onwards as the light continued to engulf Herobrine. He had never felt or witnessed something quite like this before. It was pure, genuine shock flowing through his body as he began to feel weightless. He was floating in the middle of a white void, feeling both cold and warm at the same time. Lights shined down on him from everywhere, slowly growing brighter by the minute.

Herobrine finally landed on his feet and continued to feel the bright radiance of the four lights. They surrounded him from all sides and inched closer to him ever so gradually. It was as if they weren't moving at all like an optical illusion. Herobrine knew they were moving, though. He could tell easily. He remained still, not wanting to stare directly into the brightness.

Soon the lights were upon him, nearly blinding him with their greatness. He lost all feeling and felt as if he was floating once again. A strange coldness, like freezing water, ran through his veins. Everything felt so relaxed as the white continued to expand around him forever and ever.

Then the voices came.

Voices erupted from every corner of his mind. It started out as a minor nuisance but quickly grew into a catastrophic ailment. There was a deep voice, growling with anger for no reason; then there was a higher voice, insulting Herobrine's own intelligence for, yet again, no reason. They continued on, speaking over each other until Herobrine could take it no longer.

He looked up, fell to his knees, and screamed.

* * *

Herobrine sat up quickly, coughing up the water that had flooded his throat. He felt like he was hacking up a fish at that moment. Every time he heard his chest and throat croak with air, he became more and more worried that he wouldn't make it out. Finally he felt a bit better after feeling the water go down properly.

Once he was calm, he looked around as it was no longer white. In front of him was a massive lake with a clear, blue sky high above. A forest surrounded the lake with peaceful mobs and animals of every kind conversing. As for him, he sat on the shore of the lake, feeling his clothes as they became more soaked with every tide that washed ashore from the lake.

Everything was calm and beautiful.

But he had a strange feeling.

As if someone was watching him.

Herobrine turned around and saw a tall man up the shore, wearing a white leather suit. He had dark blue hair hanging down on his shoulders. He stood there silently, staring out across the lake like he was completely alone. The two never made eye contact while Herobrine sat on the shore silently, the sound of the waves soothing his ruptured emotions.

"This is bliss, is it not?" The man up the shore asked calmly.

Herobrine looked back out across the lake, "Perhaps."

"Perhaps?" The man stepped down the shore and pulled Herobrine to his feet, dusting off the sand on his clothing, "Absolutely, to be honest. When someone enters into The Garden of Suffering, all emotions are washed away. Nothing to think about besides what comes next and then after that."

"The Garden of Suffering? The hell is that?" Herobrine pushed himself away from the man a bit and began to walk away. The place was incredibly peaceful. There were birds flying around swiftly. The only sounds were of the waves of the water crashing onto the desolate shore. The sky was gray and the trees were colorful.

Was this Heaven?

The two of them walked up the shore into the woods where Herobrine could see a small cabin not too far away. The mysterious man led him there. The two of them stood on the front porch and looked out to the lake as it began to calm down. They sat down on the steps while the unknown man pulled out a pipe and inserted it into his mouth.

"My name is Agro, in case you didn't know." The man said and breathed out smoke.

"Agro?" Herobrine said it aloud, "As in… Agro the Sovereign?"

Agro nodded.

"Just where exactly _are_we?" Herobrine continued to look around his surroundings. No significant landmarks reminded him of anywhere he knew. It was just sky and plain. Nothing more, nothing less.

Agro continued to smoke his pipe full of gunpowder, "The Garden of Suffering is my secluded home in the Northern Sands. Yes, Herobrine, I found you nearly dead in the Skyward Mountain. It was a terrifying scene indeed. What had happened is understandable, but you failed to fulfill your role as a hero. Now Chaos is free."

"Wow, way to rub it in. I'm sure I'll just find him and knock some sense into him or something."

"It doesn't work like that, though. Chaos is an Enderwar now because of the completion of the ritual. One of the Endermen was absorbed by his soul and now he is practically a god. Why should a god try to listen to someone he will, no doubt, think of as inferior?"

Herobrine nodded, "Wait, you said that he had absorbed _one_of the Endermen."

"Yes."

"What about the other? I am positive there were two of them."

The sovereign stood up and tossed the pipe onto the ground, "Yes, you're not wrong. There _were_ two. Neither of them are there anymore. They are  
dead, or at least imprisoned."

"Imprisoned?" Herobrine began to understand the horrifying truth, "Are… are you saying that…"

Agro looked up to the sky, "The other Enderman is within you. You are also an Enderwar at this point."

A strong wind blew through the trees while Herobrine nearly fell over in complete and utter shock. It felt like the world had completely self-destructed within him. He was now capable of things the normal user wouldn't be able of doing. Was this gift to his already strong persona?  
_  
No,_ he thought as Agro walked inside his shack, _this is a burden. A burden of responsibility. There is no possible way I can ignore Chaos now. The fact that I have the same power as him only makes the matter worse.  
_  
Herobrine looked over at Agro as he walked back outside with a sword.

"I'm the only one that can stop him," Herobrine was dying inside, "Aren't I?"

"No words. Let's begin training." Agro pretended to slash Herobrine, but quickly kicked him in the side when he was distracted. Herobrine flew off the porch and rolled in the dirt path. A nearby wolf ran away in fear.

Herobrine regained his ground and patted around his side to find his sword. He couldn't feel it, and resorted to merely dodging the hectic slices from Agro, "Wait a second, what is going on? Now you're training me?"

Agro dashed forward and impaled Herobrine's right hand with his sword. Blood began to drench his skin. He fell onto his bottom and began crying at the sight and feeling of his hand being stabbed. "Let me tell you that you are neither the first nor the last user I have trained. Many people have arrived in The Garden of Suffering as a result of terrible circumstances. I have put them back on their feet and led them to greatness. For you I shall do the same."

"Did you really have to stab my goddamn hand in order to prove some stupid point?" Herobrine tried to wipe away the blood but it continued to gush.

"It is merely for you to see how awful you are at swordplay. Perhaps that is why Chaos got the upper-hand on you. You don't know what to expect.  
There should be a sense of mystery in fights. You shouldn't have somebody expecting your next move. They should be _worrying_what your next move is. Understand?" Agro pulled Herobrine up to his feet and began wiping away the blood with some sort of black wool cloth from his pocket. The blood seemed to soak right up on it.

Herobrine looked around on the ground while his wound was tended to, "Where the hell is my sword?"

"Please, no cursing. I prefer a more peaceful atmosphere in The Garden of Suffering."

"Says the guy who just _stabbed_me in the hand!" Herobrine was becoming ecstatic.

Once the blood was wiped away, Herobrine went back down to the shore and found his sword buried underneath a pile of sand. He pulled it out and began to swing it around carelessly while Agro stood by, watching carefully.

"You don't show swiftness. Rather, you are exceptional at strength."

Herobrine stopped and put the sword back to his side, "Is that it?"

"Absolutely. Over the next twelve days we'll try to fix that." Agro began walking back up to the cabin in the woods.

"Twelve days? What?" Herobrine ran after him, "You can't keep me here for twelve goddamn days! I have to find Chaos and stop him from hurting anyone else!"

"In that sense, you have already failed," Agro continued walking, "you've been asleep for several days now. In that time Chaos has brought the very war you were fighting to a horrific end. Many groups have grown fearful of him after he has publically displayed his mass power. You don't even know the extent of it. I'm only trying to prepare you for him so that you don't screw up. I'm protecting you, in a way."

Herobrine stopped at the front porch and picked up the pipe off the ground, "So I'm being trained for twelve days then? Is that really gonna help me?"

"Absolutely," Agro began walking inside, "The Twelve Days of Pain will ensure your strength is up to par with Chaos'. We'll start now."

"Then what will be the first of these tests or whatever?" Herobrine asked.

"You get to sleep outside." Agro shut the door to the cabin.

The rain began to fall.

"Damn it all." Herobrine looked up to the sky and groaned loudly.


End file.
